Posted By Charles Robinson
regarding the disposal of asbestos waste the following two prosicutions by the environment agency (and available on their site) highlight the fact that all asbestos is dangerous including chrysotile
Lancaster man fined after waste asbestos offence
Author: Steve Broughton
Date published: 19-Sep-2003
Keywords: prosecution, Lancashire
A Lancaster man was today (Friday) fined a total of £1,150 after he was found to be transporting waste asbestos without a licence.
Anthony Rabbatt, of Wyresdale Road, Lancaster, pleaded guilty to two offences and was also ordered by Lancaster magistrates to pay £760 costs to the Environment Agency, which brought the prosecution.
Tim Warn, prosecuting, told the court how, on 12 March this year, police were stopping vehicles on the promenade at Morecambe as part of a separate investigation. One of the vans they stopped was carrying asbestos, which is classified as ‘special waste’ under the Control of Pollution Act.
Anyone carrying waste as part of their business must be registered with the Environment Agency to do so. Items defined as special waste, such as asbestos, must also be accompanied by a consignment note explaining what the waste is, how it can be hazardous and how it should be handled.
The police alerted the Environment Agency who went to the scene and interviewed the van’s driver, Richard Rabbatt, who explained he was working for his father, Anthony Rabbatt, a plumber.
They had been replacing an old oil burner with a new gas one, and so had demolished the asbestos flue which was now in the van with the oil tank. Richard Rabbatt said he did not know what a consignment note was and said that neither he nor his father were registered to carry waste.
In the back of the van Agency officers found 13 open plastic builders’ bags, containing broken cement asbestos, which appeared to have been pieces of tube or pipe. When the Agency analysed the pieces they turned out to be cement-bonded chrysothile asbestos.
This type of asbestos must be double-bagged for transportation, meaning that it must be put into one bag which is sealed and then that bag placed into a second bag, also sealed.
The Agency interviewed Richard Rabbatt’s father, Anthony Rabbatt, who confirmed that his son had been working under his instruction when he was stopped on Morecambe promenade. He admitted that his business was not registered to carry waste and also that he had no consignment notes for the load of asbestos being carried.
Rabbatt also said that he generally worked as a sub-contractor, leaving the main contractor to take care of the disposal of any waste generated by his work. He claimed this was the first and only time he had carried waste of this kind.
Notes:
Anthony Leo Rabbatt, of Moorside Grange, Wyresdale Road, Lancaster, pleaded guilty to the following offences:
On 12 March 2003, at The Promenade, Morecambe, not being a registered carrier of controlled waste, transported controlled waste in the course of a business, contrary to section 1 (1) of the Control of Pollution (Amendment) Act 1989. Fined £150
On 12 March 2003 on the Promenade, Morecambe, carried asbestos, which is a special waste, when you did not have a consignment note relating to the load, contrary to regulations 5 and 18 of the Special Waste Regulations 1996 and section 62 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Fined £1,000
Company fined for asbestos offences
Author: Indeg Jones
Date published: 7-Nov-2003
Keywords: Special, waste, health
A company was fined a total of £12,000 at Bridgend Magistrates Court on Tuesday 4 November 2003 for offences relating to the handling and storage of asbestos.
Davies Brothers (Waste) Limited of Tythegston Landfill Site, Tythegston, Bridgend, who pleaded guilty to three offences, was also ordered to pay £1,548 towards the costs of Environment Agency Wales which brought the prosecution.
The charges, which were all in contravention of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, were knowingly permitting the deposit of special waste, asbestos, for which it was fined £10,000; keeping controlled waste, cement bonded asbestos, in a manner likely to cause pollution of the environment or harm to human health, for which it was fined £1,000 and breaching a condition of its waste management licence, for which it was fined £1,000.
The court was told that the company is the landowner and licence holder of the civic amenity site at Tythegston Quarry near Porthcawl which is leased to Bridgend County Borough Council and which, in turn, has sub-contracted the running of the site to South Herts Waste Management Ltd. of Northampton (SHWM). There is an arrangement in place which allows the defendant company to remedy any problems identified at the site and to recharge SHWM for doing so.
On Friday 17 May 2002, an Agency officer conducted a routine inspection of the civic amenity site and found a member of the public unloading waste asbestos sheets from a van and loading them into a skip. The skip had not been adapted to receive special wastes, such as asbestos, and had several holes in it. The skip, which had been so adapted, was completely full and the officer was informed by a representative of the company that he intended to transfer the material into the correct skip once it had been emptied.
The officer noted that there was a considerable quantity of dust in the air and in the rear of the van and, fearing the presence of asbestos fibres, he did not enter. He advised that the container was unsuitable for the receipt of asbestos and that the full skip should be removed to landfill so that it was then available for the waste from the van.
The following day a second Agency officer attended the site and took photographs and samples of the materials deposited from the van and arranged for their analysis, which showed that they were white chrysotile asbestos.
The court was further told that such asbestos cement products that were being deposited contain asbestos fibres at levels of about 10% to 15% of total weight and a technical paper prepared by the (then) Department of the Environment classifies substances containing levels of 0.1% by weight shall be deemed to be "special waste". Therefore, the waste seen on the day when clouds of dust were being generated in the van, was clearly hazardous and it was the view of the Agency that the waste was being handled in a reckless fashion, despite the well documented dangers of exposure to asbestos dust and fibres.
The Agency wished to demonstrate to the company that, as the site owner and owner of the waste management licence, it could not pass on its responsibilities to manage the site effectively and to remind the company of its duties to the public and to the environment.
An Agency spokesperson said after the case: "This case highlights that asbestos should be handled and stored with care. Asbestos is classified as special waste and it should be treated appropriately to ensure protection of the environment and people from asbestos fibres that may be released. Licence conditions are designed to minimise the risk to the environment and people and failure to comply with these conditions leaves people and the environment vulnerable to harm."